Atlanta and West Point Rail Road

Infobox SG rail
railroad_name=Atlanta & West Point Rail Road
logo_filename=AWPlogo.pnglogo_size=120
old_gauge=
marks=AWP
locale=Georgia
start_year=1847
end_year=1983
successor_line=Seaboard System
hq_city=Atlanta, Georgia

The Atlanta and West Point Railroad (AWP) was originally chartered in 1847 as the Atlanta and LaGrange Rail Road and the section from Newnan to West Point was chartered in December 1849. It was completed in 1854. The AWP name began use in 1857. In 1867, while Lemuel P. Grant ran it, here were the stops available to riders:

Distances of Depots from Atlanta

Trains departed from Atlanta at 12:15PM and arrived there at 8:37AM.West Point was the connecting point further west via the Montgomery & West Point Railroad.

Today

The AWP and the Western Railway of Alabama had financial backing from the parent company of the Georgia Railroad, and from 1886 onward the AWP and the Western operated essentially as one railroad under the name "The West Point Route." In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the three were controlled through joint lease by the Central of Georgia Railroad and the Louisville and Nashville Railroad (through assignment by its majority owner, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad). The CofG sold its interest in 1944. Through the control of the Georgia Railroad, the lines eventually fell under the control of the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, which was the result of a merger between the ACL and the Seaboard Air Line. All of these lines plus the Clinchfield Railroad became the Family Lines System in the 1970s, though all the lines maintained separate corporate identities. Those identities became "fallen flags" when the group was renamed Seaboard System Railroad (SBD), and in 1986 SBD merged with Chessie System to form CSX Transportation.

The former AWP line remains in full service today, though passenger service ended in the 1970s when Amtrak took over most of the nation's remaining passenger trains. The AWP name came to an end in June 1986 when it was absorbed into the SBD.

References

* [http://www.railga.com/atlwp.html Railga.com]
* [http://www.forttyler.com/railroad.htm Railroads and the Battle of West Point]
* [http://www.oldalabamarails.org/history2.html Old Alabama Rails — West Point Route]